In the Den of Pirates

This little inlet with it's unreal turquoise waters used to hide Mediterranean pirates.

I can totally imagine a vessel like this one nestled into the bay with pirates ferrying their loot in small boats over to the old abandoned (seized?) abbey of San Fruttuoso di Capodimonte. It's crazy to think about.

Eventually the abbey was brought back to respectability by the Genoese Doria Princes and they built fortifications to ward off any marauders.

As with so many places that I went to, I wanted to be able to just stand there and wind back time, seeing everything that had gone on and all the lives that had passed through that point. Totally fascinating.

The odd piece sticking up from the bottom of the smaller of the two boats is an underwater viewer. Just at the mouth of the inlet is Il Cristo degli Abissi, an underwater statue of Jesus put there in 1954 as a memorial to all those from this area that have died at sea and, if you aren't into diving, you can take one of these rowboats to see it.

We didn't, preferring to lounge on the beach, explore the site and have a little lunch.

I totally recommend clicking on the "show this photo on a map" link on the right.

In the Den of Pirates

This little inlet with it's unreal turquoise waters used to hide Mediterranean pirates.

I can totally imagine a vessel like this one nestled into the bay with pirates ferrying their loot in small boats over to the old abandoned (seized?) abbey of San Fruttuoso di Capodimonte. It's crazy to think about.

Eventually the abbey was brought back to respectability by the Genoese Doria Princes and they built fortifications to ward off any marauders.

As with so many places that I went to, I wanted to be able to just stand there and wind back time, seeing everything that had gone on and all the lives that had passed through that point. Totally fascinating.

The odd piece sticking up from the bottom of the smaller of the two boats is an underwater viewer. Just at the mouth of the inlet is Il Cristo degli Abissi, an underwater statue of Jesus put there in 1954 as a memorial to all those from this area that have died at sea and, if you aren't into diving, you can take one of these rowboats to see it.

We didn't, preferring to lounge on the beach, explore the site and have a little lunch.

I totally recommend clicking on the "show this photo on a map" link on the right.